


Whereabouts

by Kumakins



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types, Rockman | Mega Man Classic
Genre: Blues is sort of there, Gen, Incomplete X
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-20 06:54:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15528645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kumakins/pseuds/Kumakins
Summary: "Doctor, what's wrong?" Roll finally cried out, mechanical fingers wringing her broom handle. "What are you looking for?" The grave, panicked expression Doctor Light shot her sent fresh bolts of alarm through Roll's neuro-network."X! X is missing!"





	Whereabouts

Roll stared at her beloved creator with a growing sense of urgency as he frantically rooted through her cabinets. Erratic behavior was not the norm no matter their situation. The reserved, magnanimous scientist rarely lost his composure; Wily himself could barely push Light beyond resigned sorrow balanced by grim determination. Public speaking turned the reclusive genius into a nervous, jittery mess internally, but outwardly his tells were little more than tugging his hair and beard. In other words, he was a man of considerable poise, so whatever had driven him to dive under her kitchen table and throw open all the curtains must have been nothing short of a world-ending catastrophe.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Roll finally cried out, mechanical fingers wringing her broom handle. "What are you looking for?" The grave, panicked expression Doctor Light shot her sent fresh bolts of alarm through Roll's neuro-network.

"X! X is missing!"

Roll paled. She had no blood to drain from her face, but the shock overburdened her processor, leaving the robot momentarily disoriented.

Did Wily take him? Wily would want him. How could Wily have known? They were so careful to hide him. Did Wily steal away another one of their siblings? X was a baby; he wasn't even fully functional. Yes, throughout construction he kept waking from stasis, but only to chat with Doctor Light. X could hardly be certified as a newbuilt at this stage.

"No... not X..." Roll whimpered.

Rockman X was the project Doctor Light would stake his legacy upon. The new robot would be far more advanced than anything the world had ever known. More advanced than Roll thought possible. He was the culmination of all Doctor Light's hopes and dreams for the future of mankind and robotics. More importantly, X was their baby brother. Wily would do anything to hurt them, and taking X would be a mortal blow to the Light family.

The broom slipped from Roll's fingers.

"Rock! Roooock!" Roll shrieked while scrambling to locate her twin brother. The pair nearly collided when Rock came leaping down the stairs as she began her ascent. He instinctively grabbed her shoulders to stabilize his startled sister, matching azure eyes already searching her for harm. Roll could almost see his combat protocols running. The battle-hardened glance Rock gave the room nearly broke her heart. Since when was his first response to automatically scan for enemy intruders? Her poor Rock. When his face was this close, Roll could still make out a faint hairline scar from recent campaigns against Wily's robots.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Rock's voice was unnaturally harsh and the intensity elicited a flinch from Roll. She swallowed.

"I-It's X... Doctor Light says he's missing." Roll saw her brother's brief moment of doubt, then the onset of terror followed by subtle yet palpable fury.

"Wily?"

"I don't know. Just help us look for him, ok?" Now it was Roll's turn to grip her twin's shoulders and hold the robot hero in place. Rock's anger abated with a nod. Guiltily he gave her a small, apologetic squeeze.

"Sorry, I'm still a little tense after... last time." Rock pulled back so he could finish descending the stairs. "I'm going to check the backyard then ask Auto if he's seen anything."

"Wait, let me do that!" Roll objected. "Take Rush and use his nose. Maybe he can find a clue near X's capsule."

"Oh, yeah..." Rock smiled. Where would he be without Roll keeping his head on straight at times like this? He raised two fingers to his lips and whistled for the faithful hound. "Rush! Come here, boy!"

The robot dog confirmed the order with a yip as Rush bounded through the doggy door and scrambled to his master's side. Rush propped up on his hind legs, front paws reaching for his favorite person's shoulders, to lap excitedly at Rock's cheeks. Despite the situation, the boy robot laughed as he scrubbed his support unit's shoulders. "Good boy, Rush!" he chuckled. "Help me find X, ok? I'm counting on you."

Rush immediately sent a link request for direct machine-to-machine, or M2M, communications. The Robot Master smiled wryly at the implicit suggestion they enter duel combat mode as a precaution. It seemed even Rush associated all problems with Wily. Rock accepted his hound's request without hesitation. The familiar connection between master and support unit comforted the robot hero. Detecting the warm thrum of Rush at the end of their link reassured him and expanded his awareness. Connecting wirelessly enabled Rush to send alerts as if they shared one system. Still, even though it saved them countless times, Rock hated applying his M2M network for combat coordination.

M2M networking distinguished Robot Masters from other robots. They were independent enough to fulfill their jobs with little oversight and supervise fellow robots simultaneously through their unique networks. Administrating orders directly to connected units, or servants, removed the burden of issuing verbal commands and helped coordinate multiple robots at once. Though not quite a hive mind, this enabled instantaneous response time as servants could sense the master's needs and move accordingly as if part of one body. Robot Masters were not mere command dispensers, of course. M2M networks further enabled them to monitor a unit's position and maintenance by sending status requests to the servant's systems. The masters were diligent caretakers, responsive to the slightest hint of distress, and quick to redirect any wayward servant robots.

During times like this, Rock wished he could do the same with X.

Rock was certain X would at least acquiescence to partial access. Then he could monitor when his baby brother was in need. Unfortunately, Doctor Light forbid any contact with Robot Master M2M networking to protect the young robot's intricate mind. He didn't want anything to influence X's mental development until he completed his final test sequence. Rock conceded X was highly impressionable and if someone imposed their will on him it could be disastrous. That didn't make it any less inconvenient.

"X!" Rock called as he followed Rush into the bowls of Light Labs. He devoted a secondary processor to reading his hound's sensory analysis for promising clues. Doctor Light was the only working scientist but the facility was massive to accommodate the old man's more ambitious projects. His voice nearly echoed.

Roll recently implied they should consider downsizing the lab, and Rock sadly noted her suggestion had merit. Large sections had hardly been touched in years. If not for Roll, most of the lab would have been overrun with dust. Light's wrinkled, calloused hands were not as nimble or resilient anymore. He lacked the stamina to manage multiple, large-scale projects even with Rock and Roll's diligent assistance. Developing X and maintaining his current Robot Masters was enough to leave Doctor Light fatigued some days.

Rush pinged Rock, distracting the boy robot before he began contemplating Light's mortality. The hound watched his master for a few seconds longer to make sure he returned his attention to their task. Rock flashed his companion a waning smile and refocused.

"X, where are you?" Rock carefully filtered any frustration from his voice. It was a risky gamble to let X know he was in trouble. Either he would immediately fall in line to avoid upsetting them further, or he would find a hiding spot to wait out Rock's bad mood. "Please come out! Doctor Light is looking for you!"

A rustle.

Rush instantly triangulated the source's possible location. Rock patted his dog on the head. 

"Good boy," he whispered tensely, internally preparing to trigger an armor recall. His body instinctively crouched low as tactical began advising the best methods for approaching a potential intruder. Rock had more than enough combat data for tactical to work with thanks to Wily. His core churned at the thought of his nemesis and Rock allowed mounting anger to muffle any anxiety. This had better not be another one of Wily's schemes.

Rush growled menacingly in response to Rock's emotions leaking across their link. His hackles raised in preparation to defend their family and home.

All the battle experience in the world couldn't have prepared them.

"Niisan!" The delighted coo was Rock's only warning. Two powerful arms unceremoniously ripped the boy robot from the ground. When did someone get behind them? Rock panicked and summoned his armor as every processor spun in alarm. He could feel Rush likewise reeling blindly from Rock's abrupt abduction. The robot hero's instinctive flailing merely generated a giggle from his captor.

"X!" Rock wheezed shrilly once he managed to regather enough of his scattered wits to speak. "You nearly scared me into a reboot!"

X unapologetically nestled his big brother closer like a much-loved teddy bear. The taller robot ignored his elder's distress as he affectionately cooed Rock's title into the back of his helmet. Rock attempted to be rightfully indignant, but his anger fizzled out at the unhappy poking along his cyan armor obstructing cuddles. X wouldn't understand anyway.

"I was really worried about you." Rock dismissed his armor and twisted in X's arms to hug the baby. 

X practically swelled with joy as he greedily sponged up Rock's affection. He didn't know what it meant to worry. He simply knew that Rock was paying attention to him and he loved Rock. He wanted all of Rock's attention all the time. 

The boy robot smiled weakly and kept talking despite the baby failing to grasp his words. Though X was largely uncomprehending, Doctor Light assured them he did process language. He simply didn't have enough experience for words to mean anything beyond theoretical definitions. Robot Masters didn't have that problem but X wasn't a Robot Master; he was something undefined and completely new. Doctor Light said talking to X helped, so Rock talked more. Hopefully, his youngest brother would eventually start to listen.

"Doctor Light and Roll are worried, too." Rock shifted his weight away from X, signaling he wanted to be put down. X obliged but immediately reached for Rock's hand to maintain constant contact. The older Light bot smiled and his best intentions to scold X failed. "Come on. Let's go tell them you're ok."

X made a reluctant sound as his optics swiveled toward the shadows.

"What's wrong?" Rock tilted his head but saw nothing there.

"... It got away..." X sounded so disappointed Rock impulsively moved to comfort him.

"What got away?" Rock asked soothingly. 

The baby whined at the question. He either didn't know how to answer or didn't want to answer.

"You know I can't help you if you don't explain," Rock sighed patiently. "Come on, X... What was it?"

"The toot-tooter."

"Oh..." Rock tried to sound like he fully comprehended X's nonsense and nodded vaguely. Internally he sent an inquiry to Rush for more data on anything in the area that could possibly be a toot-tooter, but the dog had nothing. "Well, I'm sure you'll catch it next time."

"I can catch it." X was almost insulted Rock doubted his toot-tooter catching skills. "Finding it is hard."

"The toot-tooter must be very sneaky." Rock smiled. For now, he focused on X trying to carry a conversation even though half his statements made no sense.

"Very sneaky," X agreed with an indignant huff as if he had been grievously offended. "Sneakiness is rude."

Rock laughed softly as he brought X back to Doctor Light. The thought occurred to him a toot-toot might be a whistle, but Rock only smiled secretly to himself. Maybe it would be more interesting to wait for X to catch the toot-tooter.


End file.
